STOCKTON - Two families were displaced Friday by a three-alarm blaze that destroyed neighboring homes in north Stockton, fire officials said.

Ken Nguyen, a 26-year-old resident of one of the homes, crouched down with his hands over his head and tears in his eyes while firefighters battled the blaze. Friends and relatives tried to console Nguyen's parents, particularly his mother, who sobbed uncontrollably. The family has lived in the home for about 10 years, Nguyen said.

"Everything is gone," said Anthony Tran, a friend of the family.

Nguyen said his father was the only one home when the fire started.

"He was sleeping," Nguyen said. "He said he smelled something and he went out the door because he was scared."

The fire started about 4 p.m. at the home in the 1900 block of West Rosecrans Way, Stockton Fire Chief Jeff Piechura said. When firefighters arrived, the Nguyens' home was fully engulfed and the fire had spread to the house next door, Piechura said.

The Stockton Fire Department dispatched 10 engines and three ladder trucks to fight the blaze, Piechura said. Fire officials were still trying to determine the cause of the fire, Piechura said.

Both homes were rendered uninhabitable, Piechura said. Also destroyed were two vehicles, a car and a truck, that were parked in the Nguyens' carport.

No one was seriously injured, but one person was treated at the scene for a heat-related illness, Piechura said.

Fire officials were contacting the San Joaquin County chapter of the American Red Cross to provide emergency assistance to the families, Piechura said.